Verified Voting Blog: November 2009 Snapshot: Maine, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia

Elections are underway in four states today. The two highest-profile elections lack basic verification measures. The gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia today will not be auditable or recountable. Both states have enacted legislation to end unverifiable electronic voting, and need funding to complete the transition to new voting systems.

Two other closely watched elections today are verifiable, though only one will be audited. In Maine, where a statewide referendum on same-sex marriage has attracted national attention, a majority of ballots are tallied by optical scanners, and there is no automatic manual tally audit. The special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District will see most voters cast balllots using new paper ballot scanners, which will be subject to a manual tally audit of 3% of machines.

The Voting News Daily: Voting problems: New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Maryland. Internet voting whack-a-mole contd

A 90-Year-Old Won’t Be Voting Today because of the ID nightmare she faced when moving to Virginia…Election/Voting problems reported in New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Maryland, just to mention a few…Montgomery County Ohio had problems with Diebold TSX – with some encoders, some calibration issues, printer jams and some machines taken out of service. Emergency paper ballots were provided in some cases……Police called to polling places in NY 23…King County’s Ballot Scanners can’t handle close Mayor’s race?…Must You Vote?…

Alabama State Representative Jimmy Martin reintroduces military internet voting bill HB 30. Something for Alabama lawmakers to this news: Cyber attacks traced to N. Korea -The United States military cyber defense is one of the world’s most robust yet the article says “Affected sites include those of the White House and the South’s presidential Blue House.” Are we going to trust the election of our decision makers to the internet,or even more secure networks the Pentagon has?…
Virginia election officials take precautions to avoid spread of H1N1 – is voting more dangerous than going to the grocery store or shopping mall?…Take action, tell ES&S to open up their source code…Did you have problems voting? We’d like to hear from you….

All that and more in today’s voting news below…

AL: State may be on fast track to pass military voting bill (military internet voting) The Alabama military voting bill, House Bill 30, has been pre-filed by Rep. Jimmy Martin, D-Clanton, for the legislative session that begins in January. He sponsored the bill last year as well. The bill nearly passed during the last session, but an amendment added by Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, was largely seen as an attack on U.S. Rep. Artur Davis’ gubernatorial campaign and the bill failed.

Chapman said the state bill should be on the fast track to pass this session because it passed both houses last year, before the amendment. But she added that the federal legislation was “icing on the cake because it allows us to implement what we’ve been hoping to implement all along,” in regards to federal elections.
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20091030/NEWS01/910300363/State-may-be-on-fast-track-to-pass-military-voting-bill

CA: San Ardo woman sentenced for voter registration fraud
November 2, 2009 Monterey County District Attorney Dean D. Flippo announced today Irene Madrigal, 33 of San Ardo, pled guilty on Oct. 30 to a violation of fraudulent voter registration.
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20091102/NEWS01/91102013
/1002/San+Ardo+woman+sentenced+for+voter+registration+fraud
or use this
http://tinyurl.com/ylqy8rw

CO: Summit County clerk & recorder resigns unexpectedly
Deputy clerk Kathleen Neel appointed to fill spot during emergency BOCC meeting
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20091103/NEWS/
911029972/1078&ParentProfile=1055
or use this http://tinyurl.com/yz4tmzo

CT: Secretary of the State’s Letter To Senator Schumer RE: Premier, ES&S
November 2, 2009 Secretary of the State, Susan Bysiewicz and Deputy Secretary Lesley Mara have sent the following letter to Senator Schumer relative to the Premier acquisition by ES&S.
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2538

FL: Judge rules Fort Pierce election good to go; questions about Perona’s qualifications to be decided Wednesday
November 2, 2009
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/nov/02/judge-rules-fort-pierce-election-good-to-go-to/

IL: Ballot Order
Champaign County Clerk. We had our drawing today for the ballot order for the candidates who filed at 8am last Monday, the first day of filing.

The Voting News Daily: Election day problems? Let us know

Tuesday is election day. If you hear of an election meltdown or see them , problems with voting machines, polling places, voters, reports in the media or with your own eyes, let us know at Voting News and also BradBlog.

We’ll do our best to monitor and report as things develop.

Watch for key words in the media that usually indicate more trouble:
“glitch”, “hiccup”, “snafu” and “snag”
in reality known as FAILURES!

Send reports to brad (at)bradblog.com and cc me at joyce@ncvoter.net (best email to use)

Thank you!

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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The Voting News Daily: Sarasota undervote fears, Go Vote Tuesday, Montreal ditches e-voting

Sarasota Sup. of Elections Kathy Dent predicts another “smooth” election in spite of voting machine problems – the machines can’t read blue ink or #2 pencil and manual counts are needed to ensure that all votes are counted, but once burnt twice shy activists and a candidate call for manual counting of ballots…
… The Defense Authorization Bill, which contains an internet voting pilot, was signed by the President last week. Around the same time, a government commission released a report on China’s ability to conduct Cyber Warfare against the US…Missing ballots for April 08 Nevada State GOP convention finally counted, favored Ron Paul…Some New Jersey officials warn that under-vote notification goes too far causing loss of secrecy…Galveston TX Vote Center pilot cut number of voting places in half…The Washington Post slams Virginia State Board of Elections’ website…Open Software Can’t Count Votes & Elections Still Won’t Work…Montreal Canada returns to hand counted paper ballots after e-voting problems…Privacy Looms Over Gay Rights Vote…Rock the Vote urges you to take part in democracy, get out and vote this Tuesday…

CO: Inside the ballot issues for Pitkin and Eagle counties
October 30, 2009 …City of Aspen Referendum 2A: The city wants advice on whether it should continue to use Instant Runoff Voting for its mayor and council elections. The question is on the ballot because of the controversy and complications associated with IRV in the May election. Voters are being asked a simple “yes” or “no” on whether to keep using the method.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20091030/NEWS/910309979/1077&ParentProfile=1058

FL: Elections supervisor predicts smooth election in Venice * (Diebold OSX scanners)
November 1. VENICE – Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent said she is expecting strong turnout and a smooth election for City Council seats Tuesday despite some complaints about a ballot counting glitch.
An elections activist and at least one candidate are calling for a manual vote count after a ballot marked with blue ink failed to scan properly during a test run earlier this month.

“I’m not concerned,” (Dent)…

Muntz also disputed Dent’s assertion that every ballot would be counted.

“She can’t catch them all,” Muntz said. “She thinks she’ll be able to intercept each one, that it’ll be rejected, but from what I’m learning lightly colored blue ink could slip through. It would be accepted and register as an undervote in that race.”
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091101/ARTICLE/911011031/2416?Title=Elections-supervisor-predicts-smooth-election-in-Venice

Another “Smooth” Election supervised by Kathy Dent? 2006 Florida 13 Buchanon/Jennings Congressional Contest and the 18,000 undervotes. Dent ignored the vendors warning and also failed to supply this document to Jennings campaign:

E-Vote Memo Is a ‘Smoking Gun’
03.22.07… “This memo is the smoking gun that says, ‘Yes, Houston, we have a problem,’

Jennings and voting activists had sought not only access to the source code but to all correspondence between ES&S and election officials related to the performance of the machines. The memo was not among documents handed over.
…Kathy Dent, election supervisor in Sarasota, decided not to post the sign, (the sign ES&S urged her to put on each voting machine to warn voters of delay),,,
http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2007/03/EVOTE_0322

Verified Voting Blog: Verified Voting Statement on the Acquisition of Premier Election Solutions

The recently announced acquisition of Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold) by its largest competitor, Election Services & Software (ES&S), requires close scrutiny, as it raises greater concerns about the security, transparency and cost of elections and creates a profound anti-competitive effect in the shrinking marketplace for voting systems. We welcome the call by Senator Charles E. Schumer, chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, for a Department of Justice probe of the Premier sale,[1. http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/record.cfm?id=317761] and we hope the Department acts promptly on the recommendation. In addition, a judge for the US District Court in New Jersey has set a date for a hearing on an injunction to block the merger.[2. http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/09/judge-sets-hearing-on-injunction-to-block-voting-machine-merger.html] Verified Voting estimates that some 64 percent of the nation's registered voters live in jurisdictions where ES&S or Premier vote tabulating equipment is used. The request was brought by a vendor who argues that the resulting stranglehold on the market raises a "threat of irreparable harm" to voters.[3. Based on 2008 voter registration data. http://verifiedvoting.org/verifier]

What can we expect to see? In the near future, many election jurisdictions, especially those using direct-recording electronic voting systems, may need to replace their current voting systems as equipment purchased to comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 nears the end of its expected life. With ES&S’ acquisition of Premier’s contracts, it dominates the marketplace.[4. “Ongoing Challenges in Voting System Certification.” By Douglas W. Jones. Presented at the Innovations in Election Technology Conference, May 28, 2009. http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/voting/uminn09.shtml]

The Voting News Daily: Fix Tennessee broken elections, Hawaii prime for open source voting,Voting machines made in China?

NYTimes Slams Diebold/ES&S Merger, Succeeds In Not Using Word ‘Paperless’ Even Once!…Is the Supreme Court about to turn the US into a corporate democracy?…Senator Feingold and Representative Ellison for Introducing Same Day Voter Registration Bill…Military ballot law means some states must move up primaries…

Humboldt County uses the Hart Voting System for the 1st time…Controversy heats up over IRV question on St Paul MN ballot…Op/ed in Tennessee says voting system isn’t broke, don’t use taxpayer money fix it – but oh Tennessee’s voting system is most definitely broken and Tennessee has millions of federal $ to fix it…Wisconsin Supreme Ct says ok for judges to preside over cases involving big campaign contributors…How To Vote From Six Feet Under…Deal Reached in Honduras to Restore Ousted President…Queensland Australia wants internet voting for disabled…Irony: China to make Philippines voting machines?…

CA: Elections office preps for big day
10/28/2009 For a moment, things got tense.
…The county opted to make the switch to the new equipment after discovering flaws with its Premier Elections Solutions equipment last November — flaws that ultimately led to the system having its statewide certification withdrawn by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen.
To help with the transition, Hart Intercivic consultant David Magedson is on site in Humboldt County, and will remain to help the local elections staff until Nov. 4
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_13658263

CA: Oakland, California, Moves Closer to Using Instant Runoff Voting
October 30th, 2009 According to this story in the October 30 Oakland Tribune, the Alameda County (California) Elections Department says the vote-counting machines used in that county can handle Instant Runoff Voting. Alameda County is waiting for the Secretary of State to certify those machines
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/30/oakland-california-moves-closer-to-using-instant-runoff-voting/

CA: Perata questions ranked choice voting in Alameda County
10/30/2009 Three years after Oakland voters approved instant runoff voting for city elections, one Oakland mayoral candidate is questioning whether or not the city, county and voters are ready for it.

In a letter to Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi, former state Senate leader Don Perata brings up a variety of questions and concerns about the possibility of using instant runoff voting in next year’s city elections.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_13672535

CT: Working Families Party May Elect City Council, School Board Seats in Bridgeport, Connecticut
October 30th, 2009 Bridgeport, Connecticut, like other towns in that state, is hold local partisan elections on November 3, 2009. In Bridgeport, and certain other Connecticut towns, no one political party is permitted to run a full slate of candidates.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/30/working-families-party-may-elect-city-council-school-board-seats-in-bridgeport-connecticut/

HI: Hawaii should clean its election house and join other states supporting open source voting software
Who will you vote for in 2010?

If you live in Hawaii, the better question right now is “how” will you vote in 2010.

If a crisis can be an opportunity, we’ve got the makings of a grand opportunity as our Office of Elections continues to melt down.

Senate Ways and Means and Election Commission hearings that put Chief Elections Officer Kevin Cronin on the hot seat have not yet revealed any clear path to solving the many problems the CEO faces
With its budget cut 94% by the gov, lawsuits still pending and procurement on hold, there is yet no solution in sight.

The Voting News Daily: Trust, Antitrust and Your Vote, GA. seeks voter id approval, VA. votes still at risk

Trust, Antitrust and Your Vote (or ES&S buys Diebold)…Your papers please: Georgia’s State Board of Elections seeks DOJ approval of law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote…Correction: Voting news should have said Wyoming County New York yesterday: Pilot is beginning of Wyoming County New York’s switch to electronic voting, officials incorrectly cite HAVA as requiring they ditch lever machines…St Paul MN divided over instant runoff voting…NY City Council member sponsors resolution urges state lawmakers to keep the levers…Will every vote count? New optical scan voting machines to be tested in NY 23rd House race…Virginia runs risk in 2010 elections with mostly paperless voting…VA State BoE submits swine flu contingency plans to EAC…”President Obama signs Schumer bill to ease voting process for Military, overseas voters…Voting Gets Easier For Disabled, But Problems Remain…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below…

CA: Santa Barbara “Vote-By-Mail” Election Nears
There are nearly 47,000 registered voters in the city of Santa Barbara and with less than a week until the November 3, 2009 election, just 11,000 ballots have been received by the County Elections Office.

The election is the city’s first ever “vote-by-mail” election, and there’s concern that some registered voters may not return their ballots on time.
http://www.keyt.com/news/local/67064762.html

GA: Citizen Check For Voter Registration Moves Ahead
ATLANTA — The State Elections Board this week decided to take the first step to get approval for Senate Bill 86. Passed by state lawmakers earlier this year, it requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote in Georgia.
http://www.gpb.org/news/2009/10/28/citizen-check-for-voter-registration-moves-ahead

KY: Polling preparedness: Counties gear up for December special election
…At its meeting on Oct. 13, the court approved the purchase of 19 new eScan voting machines. A machine will be placed in each of the 17 precincts, one will be in the courthouse for absentee voting and one reserved in case of malfunctions.

On Dec. 8, voters will get their first chance to use the new machines. Judge-Executive Milward Dedman said this election offers a chance for voters and poll workers to get familiar with the new machines before the primaries in May.
http://www.amnews.com/stories/2009/10/28/loc.745133.sto

MN: IRV: No, but we appreciate the debate
Pioneer Press Editorial 10/28/2009
…try as we might – and we tried pretty hard – we remain
unconvinced of the compelling need to change the way we elect the mayor
and members of the City Council. We view up-or-down, yes-no voting as
simpler and clearer, and IRV as an intriguing idea whose time has not
yet come in St. Paul.
http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_13663272

MN:Don Fraser and George Latimer: The case for instant-runoff voting is clear
Name any common flaw in the current system, and IRV offers a solution.
By DON FRASER and GEORGE LATIMER
October 29, 2009 …Fortunately, St. Paul voters can do just that on Nov. 3 by adopting a proposal for instant-runoff voting — also called ranked-choice voting — in mayoral and City Council elections.
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/67356572.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ

MN: More complicated, confusing and expensive
By Chuck Repke, Angie Kline, Kathy Lantry and Dave Thune
Pioneer Press Updated: 10/28/2009
St.

The Voting News Daily: Why Rig Elections? Because it works. Diebold on EFFs TakeDown Hall of Shame

Diebold can’t seem to get away from the bad publicity its disgraced election division keeps churning. The latest disgrace of many: EFF launches a “Takedown Hall of Shame” to fight censorship and – Diebold makes the list…Why Rig Elections? Because it Works….Low Tech, Computer Hack…Sens. McCain and Feingold defend campaign finance laws that Supreme Court threatens to roll back…President Obama Set to Sign Overseas Voter Act…Cool free online redistricting tool in preparation the 2010 Census!…Newspaper Condemns North Carolina Ballot Access Law…Big Week for Election Integrity in The Big Apple… 16 Va. localities fail to meet absentee-ballot deadline…Pilot is beginning of Wyoming County NY switch to electronic voting, officials incorrectly cite HAVA as requiring they ditch lever machines…Internet voting whack-a-mole in Canada: one Canadian city promises paperless online voting for 2010, another city rejects online voting as insecure…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below…

CT: Low Tech, Computer Hack
October 28, 2009. Just a little reminder that we can have all the physical security, encryption, open source, and source disclosure in the world and there are still low tech ways to hack systems available to high school “D students”.
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2499

FL: Lake Park To Change Voting Method In 2010
Change Comes After Lawsuit Claimed Blacks Not Getting Fair Shot In Elections
…”In the consent decree, the town of Lake Park conceded that there is a factual and legal basis for concluding that the current at-large method of electing the town’s commissioners results in an unfair dilution of the African-American vote,” said U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sloman. “
http://www.wpbf.com/news/21436468/detail.html

FL: Broward’s Advancement Project Report
The Advancement Project and other 501c3 groups have been meeting with SOEs around the state discussing problems with provisional ballots, voter registrations, early voting etc. They are working to create legislation for 2010 to address the problematic issues uncovered in their public records requests from the November 2008 election. They did a comprehensive request to determine the cause of rejected provisional ballots and voter registration applications.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electionreform/message/12682

MD: Open meeting squabble in Prince George’s leads to new policy
Elections administrator won’t attend closed-door meetings with delegates
http://www.gazette.net/stories/10262009/polinew181149_32537.shtml

ME: Pilot Program Encourages Early Voting
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) — Nine communities are participating in an early voting pilot program in Maine. Early voting is not the same as absentee voting. Registered voters show up to a polling place, fill out a ballot and that ballot is immediately counted.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=110486&catid=2

MN: Candidates, like city, slow to grasp instant-runoff voting
October 27, 2009
…Now the city that once made the world’s fastest supercomputers expects to employ 100 election judges for eight weeks to conduct a full hand-count of next month’s city election. Judging by their campaigns, candidates for city office haven’t cottoned much faster to the new system.
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/10/26/candidates-city-slow-grasp-instant-runoff-voting

NC: Nonpartisan voting issue brings Fox News to Kinston
October 26, 2009 KINSTON — The national media spotlight shone a little brighter on Kinston Monday as a crew from the Fox News Channel rolled into town to interview various local figures in the ongoing nonpartisan voting issue.

National: In Industry First, Voting Machine Company to Publish Source Code | WIRED

Sequoia Voting Systems plans to publicly release the source code for its new optical scan voting system, the company announced Tuesday — a remarkable reversal for a voting machine maker long criticized for resisting public examination of its proprietary systems. The company’s new public source optical-scan voting system, called Frontier Election System, will be submitted for federal certification and testing in the first quarter of next year. The code will be released for public review in November, the company said, on its web site. Sequoia’s proprietary, closed systems are currently used in 16 states and the District of Columbia. The announcement comes five days after a non-profit foundation announced the release of its open-source election software for public review. Sequoia spokeswoman Michelle Shafer says the timing of its release is unrelated to the foundation’s announcement. … Sequoia in fact has been a champion of security through obscurity since it’s been selling voting systems. The company has long had a reputation for vigorously fighting any efforts by academics, voting activists and others to examine the source code in its proprietary systems, and even threatened to sue Princeton University computer scientists if they disclosed anything learned from a court-ordered review of its software.

The Voting News Daily: Sequoia new open source voting system, Indiana exports e-voting to East Africa, India’s e-voting rigged say candidates

Industry First, Sequoia Voting Machine Company to Publish Source Code: “Security through obfuscation and secrecy is not security,” said Eric D. Coomer, PhD, Vice President of Research and Product Development at Sequoia Voting Systems. This ought to be against the law: Indiana County palms off 600 old Microvote machines to West Africa…Absentee ballot blues: Hamburg NY finds missing absentee ballots just in time…In India, losing candidates allege tampering of e-voting machines, but whether they are right or wrong, no one can prove the validity of a paperless computerized election…Ireland’s storage bill for e-voting machines still rising as Govt stalls…The news is short today, will have much more tomorrow… Reminder, if you have a news article or great blogged article, send it to us and we will use it if we can…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below..

CO: Aspen withdraws marketing district ballot question
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Amid revelations of inaccurate voter rolls, Aspen City Council voted unanimously Monday night to withdraw a ballot question that would have increased local lodging taxes
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/137345

CO:Snafu jeopardizes fate of Aspen’s ballot question 5A *(voter reg. database error)
The City Council is expected to decide Monday night what to do about a snafu that resulted in some voters receiving a ballot that includes Referendum 5A even though they don’t reside in the district and aren’t supposed to vote on the measure, while others who should be able to vote instead received ballots without 5A on it.

The city clerk certified the list of 700-plus voters who were to get ballots that included Referendum 5A, but she was working with data base and mapping errors provided to her, Ireland said in an email sent out on the heels of Braun’s missive.

County Clerk and Recorder Janice Vos Caudill said Monday morning she would not attempt to reprogram the statewide voter registration system at midstream in an attempt to correct the problems.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20091026/NEWS/910269991/1077&ParentProfile=1058

CO: Clerk asks for ballots’ early return
Only 13,000 of the 84,000 ballots mailed out have been returned.The ballots have been mailed to voters . . . and Pueblo County Clerk Gilbert “Bo” Ortiz is encouraging voters to mail them back, or hand deliver them earlier than Election Day on Nov. 3.
http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/10/27/news/local/doc4ae68487041bd874229499.txt

CT: Connecticut submits election audits to EAC Voting System Reports Clearinghouse
http://www.eac.gov/blog-postings/connecticut-submits-election-audits-to-eac-voting-system-reports-clearinghouse

FL: Voting machines for disabled could cost $3.5M
Oct 27, 2009 5:17 LEE COUNTY: Lee County leaders say they can’t afford to buy new voting machines for voters with special needs, despite the fact they are required to have accessible machines with a paper trail by 2012

Lee County estimates the new machines would cost at least $3.5 million.

And they’re not sure it’s money well spent. Of the 340,000 registered voters in Lee County, only 58 with special needs came to the polls in 2008.
http://www.nbc-2.com/global/story.asp?s=11394401

IN: Voting machines destined for West Africa
26 October 2009 Around 600 voting machines from Allen County will begin a journey to West Africa on Monday, where they will be used to assist the Benin republic in implementing a new voting system.

The Voting News Daily: Expert to aid Tennessee paper ballot case, Cyber warfare vs internet voting, NY official won’t certify election IF

Tennessee Common Cause calls in big guns – asks expert Doug Jones to aid in paper ballot case…Is signing a petition a public or private act?…Absentee ballot blues: La Plata County Colorado sent some voters 2 ballots, Tulare County CA must re-send some ballots, Nearly 500 Hamburg Michigan voters don’t have absentee ballots…No one on ballot for mayor, council in NC town…NY Election Official would refuse to certify electronic vote count if…For the first time, NY-23 will vote on paper ballots…A Voting News reader writes: So you want to run elections on networks? FYI Northrop Grumman report on the Capability of the People’s Republic of China to Conduct Cyber Warfare and Computer Network Exploitation…A different view of ACORN…Why Russians Ignore Ballot Fraud…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below..

CA: Tulare County looks to resend ballots to dozens living on Visalia outskirts
October 24, 2009 The county is looking for a do-over when it comes to mail-in ballots for 57 people on the outskirts of Visalia.

The ballots didn’t include the race for Visalia City Council. There are nine candidates running for three seats in the Nov. 3 race.
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20091024/
NEWS01/910240325/Tulare+County+looks+to+resend+ballots+
to+dozens+living+on+Visalia+outskirts
or use this tiny url http://tinyurl.com/visaliaballots

CO: Double ballots complicate election
Saturday, October 24, 2009 Bud Smith, the attorney for the district, said some voters received duplicate ballots because of slight variations between their names on their voter registration and property ownership
http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/2009/10/24/Double_ballots_complicate_election/

CO: Ballot advice (humor)
October 26, 2009
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/columnist/137297

MI: Nearly 500 Hamburg voters don’t have absentee ballots
According to Joan Runyan, elections coordinator with the Livingston County clerk’s office, as many as 475 of the 1,300 absentee ballots mass-mailed from the post office in Howell on Oct. 14 have yet to reach voters.

Runyan said her office became aware of a problem when concerned voters continued calling her office through Thursday — eight days after the mailing went out. The county clerk’s office said ballots reported missing
http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20091025/NEWS01/910250330/Nearly-500-Hamburg-voters-don-t-have-absentee-ballots

MN: better ballot? St. Paul election to decide ‘instant-runoff voting’
Supporters, opponents make cases on non-primary system
10/24/2009 The second-choice candidates of the voters for the candidate who finished last among first choices get the second round of votes. And so on.

Got it?

It can actually be stated simpler than that, but the point is it’s not hard to find confusion surrounding a significant election reform St. Paul residents will vote on next month.
http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_13631593?nclick_check=1#

NC: What if there’s an election and nobody runs?
10/25/2009 SPENCER MOUNTAIN, N.C. (AP) — Who’s on the ballot in a tiny North Carolina mill village? This year, no one.
…There are 29 registered voters in Spencer Mountain
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/ci_13638927

NC: City to test instant runoff voting (using ES&S iVotronic Touchscreens)
October 23, Hendersonville residents who haven’t voted in awhile will notice something different at the polls Nov. 4.
http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20091023/SERVICES03/910231039/1042/NEWS?Title=City-to-test-instant-runoff-voting

NC: Hendersonville Instant runoff voting in Nov – Will your vote be counted? Surprising answer
http://irvbad4nc.blogspot.com/2009/10/hendersonville-instant-runoff-voting-in.html

NY: Let NY keep its lever machines! PRESS CONFERENCE on 10/28!

Verified Voting Blog: NY-23 and the Voting Machine Pilot Program

For the first time, NY-23 will vote on paper ballots

The special election for the seat in the NY-23 Congressional district has begun to draw national attention, being seen by some as a bellwether of the strength of conservative Republicans. Unnoted by the mainstream media is the fact that the election will be conducted on new voting systems that are being used for the first time as part of the state’s pilot program. The pilot, which permits use of the as yet uncertified machines on a provisional basis, was designed to allow local Boards of Elections try out the new systems in an off year election when turnout is typically low and few races for state or national offices are held. However, the vacancy in the NY-23 seat created by the resignation of Representative John McHugh and the political makeup of the district, always strongly Republican, creates a high tension atmosphere where the eyes of the nation will focus on northern New York on November 3rd. The performance of the new voting machines as well as the procedures used to manage and secure the paper ballots will be under intense scrutiny.

The Voting News Daily: US First Open Source unveiled, Aspen ballot snafu, dagdag-bawas ever present

‘The computer says so’ is not a good answer ~ Voting Matters Blog…“Disruptive Innovation” Could Fix U.S. Voting says Mitch Kapor,co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Lotus 1-2-3…Another Aspen Colorado election snafu: the wrong ballot was sent out to some voters. The Mayor is “unsure what threshold number of tainted ballots should invalidate an election”…Harris County lawsuit settled – in 2008 Harris County Registrar office rejected 70,000 voter apps, 23 more than any other county in TX…Senate passes bill giving US troops oversees more time to vote…Philippines’ new voting machines will not eliminate “dagdag-bawas” (fraud) says poll watcher group…

AZ: “US court reviews Ariz. registration requirement”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/014627.html

CA: ‘The computer says so’ is not a good answer
In Humboldt County California, Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich has not had good luck relying on her computer system(s) to give her accurate information. This has created problems.

In November 2008 she found out that the Diebold optical scan system she was using was capable of making an entire batch of counted ballots disappear into thin air without a trace … poof!

So Crnich did what a conscientious election official might do – she decided to switch to a new vendor and spent recent months getting her brand new system from Hart InterCivic ready for this November’s election.

During the process of importing election information into the new system, Crnich said, something happened and the Eureka school board race was inadvertently and incorrectly changed from an at-large race to a ward election.
…Both times when Crnich relied on computers for information she got bad information.
http://votingmatters.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/the-computer-says-so-is-not-a-good-answer/

CA: Tweet: smcvote DYK? There are 72 languages spoken in San Mateo Co. 90% speak English, Spanish &/or Chinese – per health dept stats.
http://twitter.com/smcvote/status/5103494240

CA: Tweet: smcvote Working w/ Professors Michaelson & Malhotra on a research project to test impact on turnout if official email reminders to vote are sent
http://twitter.com/smcvote/status/5103632019

CO: Voter omissions threaten validity of ballot question
October 24.A ballot question proposing to increase lodging taxes has been left off of the ballots sent to an unknown number of locals who were eligible to vote on it, and the Election Day outcome may be invalidated as a result.
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/137268

CO: Wasted ballots (LTE)
October 24, 2009 There are scores of unvoted mail-in ballots in the post office trash. They likely belonged to some of the 85 percent of Aspen voters who chose to sit out the 2007 election as well. Those wasted ballots reminded me of another 400-plus May election voters who, while standing in the voting booth, unwittingly became “no shows.” Their ballots were tossed in the rubbish container in the final stage of IRV tabulation. Those 400-plus unsuspecting voters probably mistakenly believe that their ballots counted.
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/137280

CO: 4 Charged With Voter Fraud In Arapahoe County
LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) ― Prosecutors in Arapahoe County say four people have been charged with voter fraud for allegedly voting twice in last year’s presidential election
….
Of the four charged so far, three are accused of misdemeanors and one is accused of a felony
http://cbs4denver.com/local/4.people.charged.2.1267603.html

The Voting News Daily: Diebold audit log bug under investigation, Why ES&S Diebold merger bad for NY and US, Election official touts open source

California investigating Diebold audit log bugs…Absentee ballot blues: 7% of Route County CO absentee ballots undeliverable…Tennessee Judge may force state To provide voting paper Trail and election officials get course on running paper ballot elections….Sequoia voting source code story hits mainstream media…why the ES&S/Premier merger is bad for New York State and the Country…Election official touts the benefits of Open Source programming…Election officials deliver Afghan runoff ballots…Impasse over Iraqi election law may slow U.S. withdrawal…Complaints of tampering with the E-voting machines in India…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below…

CA: California Investigating Problems With Voting-Machine Audit Logs
October 22, 2009 …The investigation is examining what the audit logs record and whether they can be easily altered or deleted, according to Secretary of State Debra Bowen

The state confirmed the problems in a report it released about a month later in which it also found that some versions of the GEMS software had a Clear button that allows anyone with access to the system to permanently delete certain audit logs “that would be essential to reconstruct operator actions during the vote-tallying process.”
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/10/audit-log/

Voting Machines With Disappearing Logs Finally Under Investigation
http://gizmodo.com/5388025/voting-machines-with-disappearing-logs-finally-under-investigation

CA: Tweet – smcvote Sequoia WinEDS v. 3.1.012 Revised Conditional Reapproval http://bit.ly/22iQOV
http://twitter.com/smcvote/status/5051346000

CO: Don’t forget: Ballots need extra postage
October 22, 2009 AURORA County officials are urging voters to take a close look at the postal rates spelled out on mail-in ballots for November’s local election.

“Our official policy is that the voters are supposed to put the postage on the ballot. Sixty-one cents is the amount this year,” …
http://www.aurorasentinel.com/articles/2009/10/22/news/metro_aurora/doc4ae0af6aa6b6e770115288.txt

CO: Clerk: Only 5 percent of voters have completed, returned ballots *
Less than 700 completed ballots received; 1,022 undeliverable
…as of Wednesday afternoon, her office had received only 682 of the 13,440 ballots sent to voters in Routt County’s first mail-only election.
http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2009/oct/23/county_clerk_
only_5_percent_voters_have_returned_b/#
or use this tiny url http://tinyurl.com/absenteeball

MN: St. Paul residents debate instant runoff voting
October 22, 2009 St. Paul, Minn. — Supporters and opponents of instant runoff voting faced off in St. Paul Wednesday night for their first and only formal public debate
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/22/st-paul-instant-runoff-voting/#

Audio of debate here http://twi.cc/qEhB

MN: Election night wins might be tough to call in Minneapolis
The winners in some races in Minneapolis won’t be known instantly under the new ranked-choice voting system.
October 22, 2009. Not only will it take weeks before all results are known from the first attempt at ranked-choice voting in Minneapolis, but some of the election-night results will be misleading.
http://www.startribune.com/politics/local/65698537.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUoaK7D_V_eDc87DUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

MN: Instant runoff voting and buyer’s remorse
October 23, 2009 Chuck Repke, St. Paul, works in neighborhood development and government relations.
He is co-chair of the No Bad Ballots Committee, which is organized to oppose IRV.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/23/repke/

NY: why the ES&S/Premier merger is bad for New York State
October 23 2009 Bad for the country, bad for New York
…Is it so hard to imagine a scenario where ES&S makes an offer they can’t refuse and swallows Dominion, bringing New York State’s voting machine contracts under its exclusive control?

The Voting News Daily: Pima CO fights ballot audit, 9,000 Absentee ballots returned-to-sender, Sequoia laid bare

Is a Fair Election in Afghanistan Possible?…Tuscon wants hand count audit, Pima County says NO…9000 absentee ballots undeliverable in El Paso County Colorado… Indiana Secy of State gives up on criminalizing use of election data…Nevada is prosecuting ACORN itself, not just individuals…Employee for Ohio pro casino group indicted on 5 counts voter registration fraud -Casino group not blamed… Group complains about WVA’s electronic voting machines… National Academy of Sciences reviews voter registration databases… McCain, Feingold Speak on Senate Floor About Citizens United…Sequoia Voting System database laid bare…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below.

AZ: City, Pima at odds over vote hand-count
Dispute over audit of ballots could affect Nov. 3 tallies
Tucson, Arizona 10.21.2009. A dispute between Tucson and Pima County could lead to no hand-count of November’s election results — a practice that could help uncover voting machine malfunctions and fraud.

The heads of the Pima County Republican and Democratic parties asked the council to take the hard line to force a hand count, given the county’s history with the 2006 Regional Transportation Authority election, where some observers alleged votes were flipped to change the outcome of the election, and the county was forced to pay $230,000 in attorney’s fees for losing a public records suit.
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/314130

CO: No ballot? No problem, contact county clerk *
October 20, 2009 If you’re a registered voter but didn’t get a ballot in the mail last week, it’s probably because you moved but didn’t update your address with the county clerk’s office.

The office of the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, Bob Balink, said Tuesday that out of 278,000 ballots mailed last week for the Nov. 3 election, about 9,000 ballots had been returned as undeliverable. To cut down on voting fraud, the Postal Service is forbidden by law to forward ballots
http://www.gazette.com/articles/ballot-64099-clerk-contact.html

CT: Al Lenge Named Director of State Elections Enforcement Commission
October 21, 2009
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2474

IN: Funding for new voting machines approved
21, 2009 The Harrison County Council Tuesday, Oct. 13, unanimously approved new voting equipment for the county.
The machines, produced by Hart Intercivic based in Lexington, Ky., and Harp Interprises, were purchased for a reduced price of $227,250 because they were used for one election cycle in Hawaii.

New voting machines became an issue after Election Systems & Software, the company which provided upkeep for the county’s 40 Optech Eagle machines, said technical support no longer will be available for the machines.
http://www.corydondemocrat.com/Articles-i-2009-10-20-212291.114125_Funding_for_new_voting_machines_approved.html#

IN: Rokita rolls out redistricting proposal
Secretary of State Todd Rokita today urged lawmakers to change how Indiana draws legislative and congressional districts.

But he backed off an earlier recommendation that they make it a felony to consider political data, including the addresses of incumbents and the voting history of constituents
http://www.indystar.com/article/20091020/NEWS05/910200367/
Rokita+rolls+out+redistricting+proposal
or use this tiny url http://tinyurl.com/yjqx9gh

IN: Ind. Decisions – Petitions to transfer filed in the Indiana voter ID case
Briefs have now been filed re the Court of Appeals decision in League of Women Voters v.

The Voting News Daily: Sequoia e-voting code out, Vote flipping in Tennessee, Will Afghan voters turnout for do-over?

Aspen Colorado citizen wins effort to stop destruction of May 5 ballots…New Jersey’s anti-exit polling law…Election Defense Alliance has election databases from Riverside County that Sequoia insisted on “redacting” first, Sequoia Voting Systems inadvertently released the SQL code for its voting databases…Wow! Diebold (OSX) scanners are picky about ink colors on ballots…”The next question is whether these machines can actually count.” ~ Voting Matters Blog…Touch Screen Vote flipping in Franklin Tennessee…Breaking: Supreme Court Reverses Ninth Circuit, Reimposes Stay in Washington Referendum Signer Case…Afghan Leader Said to Accept Runoff After Election Audit, Do-over? “Neither Karzai nor Abdullah are worth the lives of our children.” ~ Sadruddin Khan, a tribal elder in Kandahar.. Oh goodie Nigeria wants e-voting…

AZ: City of Prescott appeals election ruling
…Claiming “irreparable harm,” the city filed a request this morning for a stay of the ruling that Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Michael Bluff issued this past Thursday, prohibiting the city from continuing with its November general election.

…The case centers on the city’s decision in September not to place City Council candidate Paul Katan’s name on the general election ballot. Katan, the seventh-place finisher in the Sept. 1 city primary, maintained that he should have moved up and onto the ballot after fifth-place finisher Bob Bell withdrew from the race in mid-September.
http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=73637

CA: E-Voting Code to Receive ‘First-Ever’ Public Scrutiny Following Public Records Request Sequoia’s ‘proprietary’ source code now available on the Internet
ALSO: Company yet to come clean to federal investigators, election officials, public about Chavez-tied Venezuelan firm’s ownership of vote machine Intellectual Property…
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7477

CA: The Election Defense Alliance filed a public records request under California law for a copy of the final election databases from recent elections in Riverside County California. Riverside coughed them up, after sending them first to Sequoia for “redaction of trade secrets” and forcing EDA to pay a substantial amount for this “service.”

As near as we can tell, instead of stripping out proprietary stuff of any sort, Sequoia simply committed vandalism:
http://studysequoia.wikispaces.com/

CO: Ballots will be kept past Nov. deadline
Saturday, October 17, 2009
A judge has issued an order requiring the city of Aspen to keep ballots from the May election past the November date when they otherwise would have been destroyed.

The ruling, issued Friday by District Court Judge James B. Boyd, granted a preliminary injunction sought by Marilyn Marks in her lawsuit against the city, which has the ultimate goal of forcing the city to release the ballots.
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/137091

GA: Ballot confusion: Candidates, issues, polling places vary in Nov. 3 voting
The Nov. 3 Douglas County election presents a variety of candidates and issues, and the ballots that voters receive depend upon their city or county locations.

This may cause confusion for some voters, Laurie Fulton, county election supervisor, confirmed Friday.

“Voters in city precincts must request both city and county ballots,” Fulton said. “Signs are posted at these locations showing the two separate voting places.”
http://www.times-georgian.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Ballot+confusion-+Candidates-+issues-+polling+places+vary+in+Nov-+3+voting%20&id=4038469-Ballot+confusion-+Candidates-+issues-+polling+places+vary+in+Nov-+3+voting&instance=west_ga_news

MN: Not-so-instant runoff voting
Results of the first IRV city election may not be in for weeks.

Verified Voting Blog: EAC Response to Burstein and Hall

The Election Assistance Commission has sent this response to Aaron Burstein and Joseph Lorenzo Hall's comments on the EAC's Voting System Test Lab and the California Top to Bottom Review of Voting Systems.

Thank you for your letter dated October 13, 2009, concerning the federally accredited Voting System Test Lab's (VSTL) consideration of the California Secretary of State's Top-To-Bottom Review (TTBR) in developing the test plan for the Premier Assure 1.2 voting system. The VSTL that tested the Premier Assure 1.2, iBeta Laboratories, closely reviewed the findings of the TTBR during the development of its test plan in accordance with the requirements of EAC's Testing and Certification program and the "Evolution of Testing" requirement contained in Section 1.5 of the 2002 Voting System Standards (VSS). In addition, the VSTL reviewed the results of the Kentucky, Ohio, and Connecticut Reports which resulted in an update of the Security Test Case to verify that Connecticut's recommended tamper-resistant seals were incorporated into the Premier Technical Data Package (TDP). The review of the 3 March 2009 California Secretary of State report. was also reviewed as well as the Premier Product Advisory Notices. Finally, please note that the software and firmware versions of each component of the system reviewed by California were an earlier version than that tested by the EAC VSTL. A comparison is listed below for your information.

The Voting News Daily: Calls for Open Source voting systems, Diebold OSX WARNING, Afghanistan election disaster

SOS project call on Sen Schumer for Open Source voting machines… Pre-Election Diebold Op-Scan Failure in FL; ‘Reform’ or Legislative Obscenity? – WARNING on Diebold OSX optical scanner…California considers how to regulate electronic campaigning…DOJ spikes Georgia voter voter registration matching/citizenship checks again…Washington State OP: “Ballot secrecy is being eroded.”…Afghanistan: anatomy of an election disaster…Estonia automatically registers voters at 18 but also issues national ID, the latter controversial in the US…India goes to polls and 18 killed in violence, candidate alleges that e-voting machines were rigged…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below…

CA: State watchdogs consider regulating campaigns’ electronic messages
October 19, 2009 Between tweeting, YouTube videos and text messaging, the age of the Internet means political candidates now rely on more than snail mail to reach voters, and California’s ethics watchdog agency is responding to the changing times.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/state-watchdogs-consider-regulating-campaigns-electronic-messages.html

CT: The Day: New London has problem with math
October 19, 2009 New London has problem with math…Actually it is more a problem of complexity and communications:
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2468

D.C: Voting Plan Could Be Attached To Defense Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) A plan to give D.C. residents a voting member of Congress could be attached to a defense funding bill.
http://wjz.com/local/DC.voting.plan.2.1253234.html

FL: Pre-Election Diebold Op-Scan Failure in FL; ‘Reform’ or Legislative Obsenity?…
Diebold’s Optical-Scan System FAILS in Sarasota, FL
County election director Kathy Dent’s ‘solution’ as bad or worse than the actual problem…as usual…

Today, it’s our old friends in Sarasota, under the continuing and now-legendarily failed direction of Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent and her latest failed voting system, this one an optical-scan system made by Diebold, featured in the Charlotte Sun’s “Scanning glitch in vote machine test”:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7472

FL: Scanning glitch in vote machine test * Premier’s OSX can’t read blue ink (Premier Release 1.20.2, Version 1 Gems 1.20.2 Accuvote OSX)
http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/pnnews.aspx?NewsID=70156&a=newsarchive3/101709/vn1.htm&pnpg=0

FL: Sarasota’s Diebold scanners flunk test, fail to read blue ink on ballots *
Saturday, October 17, 2009 VOTING NEWS BLOG
WARNING: Voters in jurisdictions that use the newer Diebold/Premier optical scanners OSX with 1.0.2 firmware should use black ink to mark their ballots. The machines may not read markings made with blue ink. The OSC also has trouble reading markings by a number 2 pencil according to other reports. This is an intermittent problem.
http://votingnews.blogspot.com/2009/10/sarasotas-diebold-scanners-flunk-test.html

GA: Voting Checks Rejected Again
ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Justice has rejected Georgia’s voter verification process for the second time. Last May, the DOJ ruled the process has “a discriminatory effect” on minority voters.
http://www.gpb.org/news/2009/10/16/ga-voting-checks-rejected-again

GA: DOJ spikes Ga. voter citizenship checks again
ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Justice has for the second time rejected Georgia’s system of using Social Security numbers and driver’s license data to check whether prospective voters are citizens.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/ga/story/875653.html

IN: State voter ID law could go before Supreme Court
October 16, 2009 A The question of whether Indiana can require voters to show government-issued ID could be headed to the state Supreme Court.

State Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed a petition to bring it before the high court Friday, after the Indiana Court of Appeals declared the state’s voter ID law unconstitutional last month.

The Voting News Daily: Sarasota’s Diebold scanners flunk test, fail to read blue ink on ballots

WARNING: Voters in jurisdictions that use the newer Diebold/Premier optical scanners OSX with 1.0.2 firmware should use black ink to mark their ballots. The machines may not read markings made with blue ink. The OSX also has trouble reading markings by a number 2 pencil according to other reports. This is an intermittent problem.

In the logic and accuracy testing of Premier Optical Scanners, which will be used in Sarasota elections beginning October 19th, test ballots were run with blue marking of ovals. The result was an under vote in races where blue ink was used to fully fill out voting ovals. The machine tested was the Diebold/Premier AccuVote OSX Digital Scan Tabulator (Hardware Model A) with Firmware 1.0.2 .

Scanning glitch in vote machine test Saturday, October 17, 2009
A voting machine test this week didn’t go off without a hitch.

A handful of individuals were on hand this week at the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections office where Supervisor Kathy Dent and staff tested 16 ballot scanners that will be used in the Nov. 3 city council election.

In one test a ballot with both blue and black ink was unable to be scanned. Officials pulled that scanner from service and substituted another. It didn’t work either.

“One big factor is this is an intermittent problem,” Parish said. “Until the defect in the pickup of votes is discovered and fixed and then tested to stress levels, you will not have a solution. To do that the state needs to go after the problem and get it fixed.”

According to the SOS website, the machine tested, is the AccuVote OSX Digital Scan Tabulator (Hardware Model A) with Firmware 1.0.2 (WCER7-500.3.1, BLR7-1.3.9)

The following counties are listed by the FL SOS website as having the Premier AccuVote OSX model optical scan machine :

HILLSBOROUGH*, LEON, LEVY, MADISON, MONROE, OKALOOSA (some), OKEECHOBEE, OSCEOLA, PUTNAM, SARASOTA*, SEMINOLE, TAYLOR,VOLUSIA, AND WALTON. Only Hillsborough and Sarasota use the Premier/Diebold OSX exclusively for in person and absentee.

Another snafu in the making? Sarasota Florida is challenged once again with a flawed system under the leadership of Election Supervisor Kathy Dent. This is same Kathy Dent who presided over the Sarasota FL 13 2006 Jennings/Buchanan Race election debacle. Sarasota suffered a shocking 18,000 under votes causing doubt of the election outcome, and resulted in investigations, lawsuits and national embarrassment

The debacle might have been avoidable: Kathy Dent failed to heed the warning letter that the voting vendor sent August 15th. ES&S warned of a problem with the touch-screen smoothing filter that could cause voters to under vote. The letter urged Dent:

“train your poll workers and voters to expect this slightly delayed response time for their highlighted selections. We have included with this mailing a sample voting booth instruction sign for your review and use.”

But Kathy Dent did not put the signs up in polling booths. During that same election, there was a initiative on the ballot to get rid of the paperless touch-screens and replace them with paper ballot based systems.

The Voting News Daily: Florida hogs HAVA $ that counties need, Virginia violated overseas voters rights, Aghanistan runoff?

Interview with Dr. Ulrich Wiesner who won Germany lawsuit claiming E-Voting unconstitutional…Colorado mail elections raise issue of electioneering at the post office…Show us the money, SOS Browning: Florida State earns interest on $67 million in HAVA funds while counties like Bradford and Miami Dade can’t afford new paper ballot systems…Judge Says Virginia Violated Rights of Overseas Voters…Afghans Await Election Fraud Report and there may be a runoff election…Are you checking twitter for election news?…Voting news is light today…Remember you can visit Voting News on the web…Did we miss something? Send to us at ncvoter (at) gmail.com

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below…

CA: (Tweet) smcvote San Mateo County on Twitter: Hopefully you’ve already started following the Elections Office on Twitter at @smcvote.. http://bit.ly/35284A

CO: Mail-in vote blurs the lines
Steamboat Springs, Routt County. Postal Service spokesman: Campaigning at post office illegal Routt County’s first mail-only election is forcing elections and Postal Service officials to take a closer look at election law and oversight
http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2009/oct/16/mail_vote_blurs_lines/

CT: Volunteer 1 Day For Democracy: Sign-Up for the November Post-Election Audits Now!
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2460

FL: Supervisors want extension on new voting machine purchases
October 16, 2009. Bradford Supervisor of Elections Terry Vaughan is joining other elections supervisors in the state by calling for an extension of the deadline to have new voting equipment in place for the disabled.
The requirement grew out of the move to make all ballots paper ballots, which is in itself an outgrowth of the mistrust many have of all-digital voting systems.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20379808&BRD=2150&PAG=461&dept_id=403301&rfi=6

FL. Miami Dade may have to fork over $7 million next year for voting systems
(REPOST)…County commissioners voted Tuesday to urge the Legislature to extend its deadline to 2016 ­ unless the state agrees to pay for the new equipment it’s requiring…commissioners lashed out at the state for not only requiring new equipment without paying for it, but also for holding on to federal money passed to the state years ago to reimburse localities for past equipment switches.
The state still has $67 million “that in our opinion belongs to the counties,” Mr. Sola said.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electionreform/message/12625 archived (original link requires subscription )

MO: Voting Rights Groups Set Record Straight on Lawsuit Targeted by State Republican Party FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 16, 2009
…Today the voting rights organizations Dēmos, Project Vote, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following joint statement in response:

As organizations with a longstanding commitment to protecting the voting rights of all Americans, we are disappointed that the Missouri Republican State Committee has created an ad and website that seek to use the vital issue of voting rights for political gain…

Through this lawsuit and the settlement, Missouri is once again becoming a leader in this area after years of neglect by previous administrations, with some 147,000 low-income Missourians joining the democratic process…
http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/newsroom/press_releases?id=0048

NC: Candidates fear voter registration may skew election results
October 16, 2009. There is concern circulating that people who don’t live on Wrightsville Beach are voting on Wrightsville Beach.

The Voting News Daily: FVAP: unsecure means ok for troop vote, Scientists blast approval of faulty voting systems, Citizens assail GA Supreme Court ruling

October 15. Who will stand up for our troops vote? Soldiers to Choose Risking Democracy on Electronic Voting – FVAP says ok for troops send ballots by “unsecure electronic means” as long as its voluntary…CA Computer Scientists Charge U.S. EAC Misused Security Findings from Landmark E-Voting Study…Citizens Assail GA Supreme Court Voting Decision…Applause: NC State Board of Elections asks DOD to become voter registration agency…Guilty pleas in Atlantic City NJ absentee ballot fraud…Clermont County OH says vote by mail or you might get swine flu…Real cause of low turnout: lack of issues, disconnect with voters…
Irony warning: Tennessee SOS Tres Hargett says state can comply with voting machine law by 2010 if court orders him to…Ireland finally planning disposal of its banned e-voting machines…Plenty of internet voting whack-a-mole today…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below..

AK: Recount scheduled in North Pole mayor race
October 15, 2009 NORTH POLE, Alaska (AP) – North Pole City Clerk Kathy Weber says the city will conduct a recount in the mayor’s race.

Jacobson tells the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that an election worker told him the city’s voting machine malfunctioned on Election Day.
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=11317627

CA: CA Computer Scientists Charge U.S. EAC Misused Security Findings from Landmark E-Voting Study
In letter to federal Election Assistance Commission, investigators from CA’s unprecedented e-vote review blast the approval of flawed protocols in certification tests for new Diebold e-voting system…
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7470

CA: (Tweet)smcvote Can you increase turnout using emails & texts from a Chief Elections Officer-Drs. Michaelson/CSU East Bay & Malhotra/Stanford will find out.
(No link just go to www.twitter.com type in smcvote)

GA: Citizens Assail GA Supreme Court Voting Decision
October 15, 2009 Press Release
…Plaintiff Mark Sawyer stated: “This decision authorizes the Secretary of State to continue pretending to conduct elections. Not one of the 100+ million actual votes that have been cast on Election Day since 2002 can be audited for correctness of vote recording. No state election official can prove that any election result ever produced by these machines is correct.”
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Citizens-Assail-GA-Supreme-by-Garland-Favorito-091015-216.html

IA: Recount Board Verifies Results of Davenport Third Ward Primary
…The following process was used to recount the votes in each precinct.

Each board member reviewed each ballot and agreed on the candidate for which the ballot was cast. As the board reviewed each ballot the ballots were separated by candidates. After all ballots had been reviewed for a particular precinct each board member hand counted the results. Each board member then publically stated the vote total for each candidate.
http://scottcountyauditor.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/recount-board-verifies-results-of-davenport-third-ward-primary/

MD: Maryland Delegate plans revision to state law allowing felons to vote
October 14 …Once introduced, Impallaria’s bill will require ex-convicts to register with the State Board of Elections as a “restored voting rights felon,” and the felon will only be permitted to vote by absentee ballot.
http://www.examiner.com/x-9913-Maryland-Statehouse-Examiner~y2009m10d14-Maryland-Delegate-plans-revision-to-state-law-allowing-felons-to-vote

MI: Michigan considers e-mailing absentee ballots overseas
House bill would allow U.S. military, others out of the country more time to cast votes
Lansing — Chances of getting their votes counted are so slim for U.S.

The Voting News Daily: Hasta La Vista Transparency, Absentee ballot blues, E-voting spreads in Texas

Schwarzenegger Vetoes Election Integrity Bills…Absentee Ballot Blues: Santa Barbara Mayor warns of lost ballots in Vote-by-Mail election, and 800 Franklin County OH voters told to redo absentee ballot requests… Panel to evaluate Hawaii elections chief’s work…Bo Lipari report on New York’s Voting Machine Pilot Part 1…Paperless voting spreads in Texas…Wisconsin Lawmakers approve plan to study email balloting…High turnout, violence and damaged voting machines at the polls in India… Systest chosen to test Philippines voting source code…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below…

CA: Schwarzenegger Vetoes Election Integrity Bills.
CA SoS Bowen ‘laments’ rejection of ‘common-sense election bills aimed at enhancing government transparency’ So do we. Please help demand Bowen now take corrective action on her own.

According to a press release from CA Sec. of State Debra Bowen [PDF] today, CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed one bill for improvement to state election law, while using his veto pen to terminate three other “common-sense elections bills … aimed at enhancing government transparency.”
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7465#more-7465

CA: New law allows emergency crews to vote where they are serving
October 13, 2009. Public safety workers will be able to vote wherever they are serving in a government-declared emergency. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed AB 1440, closing out the 30-day session.
http://tinyurl.com/ca-absentee

CA: Santa Barbara, Mayor Warns of Lost Ballots in Vote-by-Mail Election*
Tangled Up In Ads Oct 13. …Ballots have been sent out for the city’s first vote-by-mail election, but some ballots destined for apartment complexes may have been misplaced, resulting in their being delivered to wrong addresses, or tossed as junk mail, or both.
http://www.independent.com/news/2009/oct/13/mayor-warns-lost-ballots-vote–mail-election/

HI: County officials blast state elections chief
Oct 13, 2009. Four county clerks that help implement statewide elections are criticizing state elections chief Kevin Cronin. The clerks of Honolulu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii counties testified before the state Elections Commission today. They said Cronin is not collaborating with them enough. They warned that could impede the smooth conduct of two major elections next year.
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/breaking/64159307.html

HI: Panel meets to get a grip on elections
Oct 13, 2009 With less than a year before the primary election, the state Elections Commission will discuss today the troubled preparations for that event and the performance of the state’s chief election officer.
Kevin Cronin, the Elections Office chief, has been under fire from legislators for weeks over his handling of election equipment contracting, his leadership skills and for not providing sufficient information about his agency’s budget woes.
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20091013_Panel_meets_to_get_a_grip_on_elections.html

KY: Mercer gets 19 new eScan voting machines
October 14, 2009 HARRODSBURG..At its meeting Tuesday the court approved the purchase of 19 new eScan voting machines.
http://www.amnews.com/stories/2009/10/14/loc.530537.sto

MN: Legislature may address proposals for early voting in ’10 session
Oct 14. WILLMAR — With memories of a long Senate recount still lingering, and a lively governor’s race looming, the Legislature is expected to take up a variety of voting issues in the 2010 session.
http://www.wctrib.com/event/article/id/58642/

MN: Times editorial columnist
Oct 13. Ranked-choice voting has appeal, but it’s too complicated
In Pierce County, Charter Amendment 3 seeks to repeal ranked-choice voting, also called instant-runoff voting.

The Voting News Daily: To EAC: Fix problems BEFORE voting systems certified, Tenn. can avert election fiascos, New Jersey Bad Ballot

TTBR Investigators letter to EAC – fix vulnerabilities before systems are certified and sold…More Media complaining about a low turnout elections but as usual forget their own part in stoking voter interest….Minneapolis election could take 8 weeks to count…Recount Confirms Voting Machines’ Tally In Pott County Nebraska…Instant Run-Off Voting Debate Returns in Burlington.. Common Cause TN op-eds supporting paper ballots for 2010: “the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act must, and can be, implemented for the 2010 election…The strongest argument for adoption was that paperless systems are subject to unintended errors and possible hacking and that votes might not be recorded as intended by the voter.”
The news is brief today, we’ll have a big day tomorrow….

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below…

CA TTBR Investigators Send Letter to the EAC
Today we sent a letter to the Election Assistance Commission signed by a number of the investigators involved in the California Secretary of State’s Top-to-Bottom Review of voting systems.
The letter points out that the EAC, and a lab that performs certification testing of voting systems, disregarded technical information about voting system security from state-level evaluations of a particular voting system
http://josephhall.org/nqb2/index.php/2009/10/13/ttbreacletter
“The EAC should use its VSTL oversight to require test labs to conduct thorough evaluations of voting system vulnerabilities during conformance testing, so that vendors will fix vulnerabilities before systems are certified and sold.”
http://accurate-voting.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ttbr-letter-eac-200910.pdf

CT. How Much Are Election Officials Paid In Norwalk?
October 13, 2009 Part-time workers hired by registrar may get pay hike
The argument for a raise seem to make sense:
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2445

FL. Election costs thousands; hundreds elect Thrasher
Taxpayers spent thousands so hundreds of voters could choose a new state senator for a district that includes Amelia Island
http://www.fbnewsleader.com/articles/2009/10/12/news/00newselectioncosts.txt

GA. ACLU Urges Department Of Justice To Object To Changes In County Board Elections In Georgia (10/13/2009)
The proposed changes would alter the boundaries of two commissioner districts, reducing their minority populations, and implement an at-large election system for the chair of the board. Currently, the chair is elected by the commissioners who represent individual districts.
http://www.aclu.org/votingrights/minority/41278prs20091013.html

MN. Not again? Minneapolis says city election next month could take 8 weeks to count
Oct 12 2009 As if we haven’t suffered enough with delayed election counts, Minneapolis officials now say it could take up to eight weeks to determine the winners in next month’s city election.
http://www.minnpost.com/politicalagenda/2009/10/12/12382/
not_again_minneapolis_says_city_election_next_month_
could_take_8_weeks_to_count or use this tiny url
http://tinyurl.com/mn-irv-slow

MN. How will Instant Runoff Voting work? (+ podcast)
Broadcast: Midday, 10/12/2009. MIDDAY offers a primer on what’s also called Ranked Choice Voting, which will be used in the Minneapolis general election in November. St. Paul voters will decide if they want to employ IRV in future elections.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/12/midday1/?refid=0

NE. Recount Confirms Voting Machines’ Tally In Pott. County
Recount Confirms Machines’ Tally; Bates Ousted (+ podcast) Recount Requested By Ousted City Councilman Darren Bates A recount of primary election ballots in Council Bluffs has found no changes, upholding the removal of Darren Bates from the city council…Not a single vote changed, said election officials.

Verified Voting Blog: California Top-to-Bottom Reviewers Letter to the Election Assistance Commission

We write to you on behalf of those individuals listed below from the California Secretary of State’s Top-To-Bottom Review (TTBR) in 2007. The TTBR was an unprecedented, in-depth evaluation of California’s voting systems, which allowed investigators to gain a better understanding of their vulnerabilities. As you know, the EAC recently certified Premier’s Assure 1.2 voting system as conforming to the 2002 Voting System Standards (VSS). This system was tested by iBeta Laboratories (iBeta), one of the accredited Voting System Test Labs (VSTLs). According to the posted test plan—the roadmap for a VSTL’s evaluation of a voting system during certification testing—for Premier Assure 1.2, iBeta interpreted the TTBR studies of the Premier system’s predecessor to have “concluded that the vulnerabilities within the system depend almost entirely on the effectiveness of the election procedures.” On the basis of this interpretation, iBeta developed a test plan that called for “no additional testing” of the Premier system’s security properties. The EAC approved this plan. Taken together, iBeta’s misunderstanding of the significance of the TTBR findings and the EAC’s approval of a test plan that was designed around this misunderstanding, represent a missed opportunity to use the testing and certification process to improve voting system integrity and reliability.

The Voting News Daily: Internet Voting Pilot in Washington, More HAVA audit shocks, Tennessee nears paper ballot finish line

Larimer County Colorado voting by mail in Nov…Colorado allows all mail elections in odd years…Fulton County GA Elections backroom debacle –

“There is no practical way to know how many Fulton County voters,who requested absentee ballots, ultimately did not vote,” Attorney Norman Underwood …

Audit questions thousands spent by the Palm Beach County elections office…Lawsuit filed for Aspen Colorado’s May ballots…5,000 absentee ballot applications rejected in Cuyahoga Co Ohio…Tennessee officials preparing for voting machine transition!…Internet voting pilot in Franklin Co Washington:

“Lenhart hopes the project will show lawmakers that online voting is the wave of the future, and that they’ll change the law that requires paper ballots.”

A Call to Protect Indian Voting Rights…How the Afghan Election Was Rigged…Big thanks to readers who sent in news clippings…

All this and more below…

CO. Aspen’s Marks sues for release of city’s May ballots
…Marks filed a lawsuit Thursday, against Aspen City Clerk Kathryn Koch, asking a judge to order the city show cause for its reason to withhold photographic ballot images from the election. If the city can’t show cause, Marks’ complaint demands that she be allowed to inspect the ballot images.
also seeks a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief to stop the city from destroying records from the election. Her suit claims the city plans to destroy the records no later than Nov. 5 — exactly six months after the May 5 contest.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20091010/NEWS/910109997/1077&ParentProfile=1058

CO. Referendum 2A — Aspen Instant Runoff Voting
Aspen voters will vote this fall on how they’d like to vote in the future.
…the Aspen City Council this past summer agreed to put an advisory question on the November ballot that asks residents whether IRV should be scrapped or kept in place.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20091011/ASPENWEEKLY/910099985/1077&ParentProfile=1058

CO. Ballots to hit mail this week
Larimer County. CO mail-in election
Doyle said voters should be careful to sign the backs of their ballot envelopes before returning them. They also should make sure to put the proper amount of postage on the return envelope.
“Elections by mail also have proved to be a boon for the U.S. Postal Service, spokesman Al DeSarro said.”
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20091012/LOVELAND01/91012005

CO. Weld County, CO moves to all mail-in election (first time since early 90s) For the first time since the early 1990s, Weld County will conduct an election exclusively by mail beginning when ballots are sent out this week.
State law allows counties to conduct odd-year elections exclusively through the mail, Weld County Clerk and Recorder Steve Moreno said…
“All eligible voters in the database will receive a ballot,”
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20091012/NEWS/910089980/1008/NONE&parentprofile=1001

CT. Connecticut Legislative Hearing on Changes to Public Funding Law
October 12th, 2009. On October 22, Thursday, the Connecticut legislature will hold an informational hearing on to discuss whether the public funding law should be amended, to eliminate or reduce the parts of the law that discriminate against minor party and independent candidates.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/12/connecticut-legislative-hearing-on-changes-to-public-funding-law/

FL. Audit questions thousands spent by the Palm Beach County elections office in ’07-’08. * October 10, 2009. WEST PALM BEACH — As Palm Beach County’s top elections official, Arthur Anderson spent big: $40,450 for children’s books, $10,000 for a Haitian cultural festival, $3,697 for jar openers bearing his name and thousands more for computer equipment that has never been found.

The Voting News Daily: Senate panel to review Diebold sale,Florida’s $67 Mill HAVA hoard, Federal Bills moving along

The Senate Rules and Administration Committee will examine Diebold sale…California Top-2 ballot measure would shrink ballot access…Corporate ‘personhood’ must be challenged in Citizens United v FEC…Recount in West Haven CT ends lawsuit…Florida withholding $67 million 2002 HAVA funds from counties…Federal Bill to help military vote goes to conference…H.R.1719 the Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2009 to get hearing…Shouldn’t all this talk about a voting machine monopoly also include investigation into issue of election transparency? Re-post of Minneapolis MN city report on IRV counting process because of bad link yesterday.

All this and more below:

CA. California 2010 “Top-Two” Proposal Is More Restrictive for Voters than the California 2004 “Top-Two” Initiative
October 7th, 2009 In June 2010, Californians will be voting for the second time on the “top-two” election system…A detailed look at the 2010 ballot measure shows that it is significantly less respectful of voter rights than the 2004 California proposal had been…If this passes, California would be one of only 7 states in which no voter could cast a write-in vote for Congress or state office in a November election, and have that write-in counted…The termination of write-in voting is especially disappointing, given that three times, Californians have elected someone to Congress by write-in votes at the general election, in 1930, 1946, and 1982…if it becomes law, the only way a party will be able to remain on the ballot will be to have registration above 1% of the last gubernatorial vote.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/07/california-2010-top-two-proposal-is-more-restrictive-for-voters-than-the-california-2004-top-two-initiative/

CA. Monterey County ballots may arrive before booklets
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20091008/NEWS01/910080318/1002/NEWS01/Monterey-County-ballots-may-arrive-before-booklets

CT. Lawsuit targeting 2 West Haven officials in election recount is withdrawn
October 7, 2009… WEST HAVEN — A Superior Court lawsuit filed against two city election officials alleging mishandling of last month’s recount was withdrawn Tuesday.
The suit was filed by Democrat Stacy Riccio after a recount in the 4th District ended with her opponent, Steve Wydra, remaining victorious.
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/10/07/news/metro/b1-whlawsuit.txt

FL. Miami Dade may have to fork over $7 million next year for voting systems
…County commissioners voted Tuesday to urge the Legislature to extend its deadline to 2016 ­ unless the state agrees to pay for the new equipment it’s requiring…commissioners lashed out at the state for not only requiring new equipment without paying for it, but also for holding on to federal money passed to the state years ago to reimburse localities for past equipment switches.
The state still has $67 million “that in our opinion belongs to the counties,” Mr. Sola said.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electionreform/message/12625 archived (original link requires subscription )

IA. Bates Claims Flaw In Voting Machines, Demands Recount
Omaha Company Touts Accuracy Of Machines
October 9, 2009 COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Ousted Council Bluffs City Councilman Darren Bates has called for a recount, citing a lack of confidence in the systems electronic voting machines.
Bates claimed the system used to count Tuesday’s primary election ballots is flawed.
…The voting machines come from Omaha-based Electronic Systems and Software.The recount will take place Monday in the Pottawattamie County Courthouse.
Porter and Bates will each have a representative present at the recount, along with an independent person.

The Voting News Daily: Maryland paper ballots on track, saving the Military vote, Open Source Momentum

U.S. House Passes Military and Overseas Voter Act…Verified Voting comments on voting system guidelines…Disenfranchised prisoners used to gerrymander districts… Maryland’s new voting machines on track…Post election audits proposed for Massachusetts…Minneapolis explains ranked choice voting process…New York’s 23rd Absentee ballots missing Congress candidates..Voting glitch in Franklin Co Tenn…Courts best resort for Tennessee paper ballot law?….Should Judicial Elections Be Abolished?…Verified Voting Oct 09 Newsletter…

AL. Defeated primary candidate claims election fraud
October 08, 2009 MONTGOMERY — A candidate for the state House of Representatives who lost a primary election last month by margin of 80 percent to 20 percent has asked officials to investigate what he contends was a conspiracy to steal the election.
Ozelle Hubert sent letters alleging election fraud to everyone from Clarke County’s probate judge to the president of the United States.
http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/1254993347186020.xml&coll=3

CA. Pelosi Adds Voice to Open Source Voting Systems Momentum
“Everywhere I go, no matter what else people have to say, they ultimately ask one question: ‘Why should we work our hearts out if the fix is already in?’” Pelosi said during a keynote speech at a fundraiser last week held to benefit Open Voting Consortium (OVC). “When we look at the elections and look at how close everything is, you know that there’s something happening in that machine that we need to know about.”…momentum is now building to replace proprietary systems with open source systems. Los Angeles County is OVC’s most promising prospect and is considering using OVC’s system by 2012, he said.
http://www.fogcityjournal.com/wordpress/2009/10/07/pelosi-adds-voice-to-open-source-voting-systems-momentum/
http://www.openvoting.org/our_solution

CA. Mistake delays mailing of county’s absentee ballots *
Posted: 10/08/2009 A mistake in the Humboldt County Elections Office has officials scurrying to re-send some of the county’s sample ballots and to get absentee ballots in the mail in advance of the Nov. 3 election… Crnich said elections staff made the mistake of only listing candidates for the Eureka City Schools board race on sample and absentee ballots for voters in the city’s 1st Ward, when the board members are actually elected at large. ”We’re working with a brand new voter registration and elections management systems, and a brand new voting system, and we just built that one portion of the data base incorrectly,” Crnich said.
Crnich said her office will be sending Eureka voters new, clearly marked sample ballots on colored paper so they stand out.
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_13512841

IA. The Prison Town Advantage
Inmates who can’t vote nevertheless add to the power of the politicians who don’t represent them.
October 08, 2009 …in Young’s Ward 2, fewer than 100 of those residents were eligible to run for the Council seat, or even to vote. That’s because the ward is dominated by Anamosa State Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison where about 1,300 men are incarcerated…They are, however, counted by the U.S. Census Bureau for data used to draw congressional, state and municipal legislative districts…Counting disenfranchised prisoners to draw up legislative districts “makes no sense,” Wagner said, “and is actually offensive to our notion of democracy.”
It also bears, in the words of Boston-based voting rights attorney Brenda Wright, an “uncomfortable resemblance” to the “three-fifths” compromise between Southern and Northern states written into the U.S.

The Voting News Daily: WA’s voter reg system crash, E-voting not safe says hacker, Hursti wins award

Famous cyber expert Rop Gonggrijp says: “electronic voting does not work.” …..E-Voting Investigator Harri Hursti wins Pioneer Award from EFF…Albuquerque Muni Election -confusion and accessible equipment broken and not set up…Early voting increases campaign costs… Florida spends $700K on single candidate contest…Hamilton County OH suspects absentee ballot fraud… New Jersey’s unfair ballot design discriminates…Allen County TX studying vote centers, cutting polling places… Washington’s online voter registration system crashes…Welfare reform/voter registration myths debunked…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below…

CA. Voting Systems Announcements from the California Secretary of State
Sequoia WinEDS v. 3.1.012 Revised Conditional Reapproval_
(http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/VotingSystemsAnnouncements/~3/aXXg4n_z-z4/sequoia_100109.pdf)
Posted: 06 Oct 2009 04:59 PM PDT
The Sequoia WinEDS v. 3.1.012 Conditional Reapproval has been revised. To
view the changes that were made, a redlined version is available at
(http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting_systems/ttbr/sequoia_redline-100109.pdf) .

CO. Voting Equipment Certification Rules (audio)
The state is updating how it certifies voting machine equipment in preparation for future elections. The secretary of state’s office held an initial meeting on Friday to go over the details, another public hearing is scheduled for later this month. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.
http://krccnews.org/rccnews/voting-equipment-certificaiton-rules/2009/10/05/7111

CT. A Candidate’s View – Early Voting, Vote-By-Mail
October 6, 2009 …a candidate’s view from FL, where early voting has changed the campaign calendar, increased cost, and perhaps reduced voter knowledge along with costing some voters their votes
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2433

FL. Florida Spends $700,000 on a Special Election with One Candidate on the Ballot
October 6th, 2009 …The cause of so many one-candidate elections is that Florida filing fees are so large
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/10/06/florida-spends-700000-on-a-special-election-with-one-candidate-on-the-ballot/

MA. State eyes allowing teenagers voting rights
Oct 07, 2009 “At the Election Laws hearing, municipal clerks from Sherborn and North Andover urged lawmakers to form a task force to advise them on changes to election laws, arguing that the people charged with implementing the laws should have a more prominent role in shaping legislation.”
http://www.wickedlocal.com/belmont/news/x576542902/State-eyes-allowing-teenagers-voting-rights

NC.Chatham ponders moving town elections to November
October 7, 2009 Chatham Town Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Oct. 13, on changing the town’s charter to hold elections in November.
..Chatham elects its mayor and town council members every two years in May.
…Moving elections to November is expected to save the town $2,000 to $5,000.
According to Pittsylvania County Registrar Jenny Lee Sanders, the state is cutting expenses and passing election costs on to localities.
Beginning in 2010, localities will be responsible for the cost of paper poll books and other election expenses, she said.
http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2009/10/07/chatham/news/news56.txt

NC. What was your Voting Experience 09?
Oct 6.
http://www.newraleigh.com/articles/archive/your-voting-experience/

NJ. Daggett gets little help from ballot position *
After his spirited performance in last Thursday’s debate, independent candidate for governor Chris Daggett has seen the number people Googling him increase by 40 times over last year.
…His obstacle: New Jersey laws reserving the top two spots on any ballot for the two major-party candidates. Last month, Daggett – along with Libertarian Party candidate Kenneth Kaplan – took the step of filing suit against the practice.
The suit argued the system was unconstitutional because it gives an unfair advantage to those backed by major parties.

The Voting News Daily: Public Option in voting? Iowa HAVA $ audited, ACORN rules for Corp Cheats

What do voting machines, laser speed guns, and parking meters have in common?…Voter machine monopoly promotes election fraud…Is Ken Blackwell ignoring the facts about voter registration?…”In Citizens United v. F.E.C., the court could wipe out a longstanding ban on corporate spending on federal elections, which would allow big business to swamp democracy.” ~ NY Times OP…Connecticut election audits fall short… Economy v Elections: Lake County IL cuts polling places to pay for new vote-by-mail program…Delaware Co. NY cuts polling places to offset voting machine cost. EAC audit of Iowa’s HAVA costs trigger investigation….Senate right to apply ACORN standard to defense contractors. Voter Action says we need a public option for voting systems…

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below…

CA. Vote By Mail Election Underway in Santa Barbara
Process Could Save the City $50-thousand dollars
A vote by mail election has begin in Santa Barbara. The city says it will save an estimated $50-thousand dollars. Ballots began arriving today. They must be received by 8 p.m. on November 3rd…The ballots come with a prepaid envelope. Voters must sign the envelope and the signature has to match the one on file in the elections office
http://www.keyt.com/news/local/63567782.html

CT. Greenwich Registrar and Deputy Secretary Mara Discuss Today’s Audit
October 2, 2009 …We would prefer audits that were intended to do more than just check the machines, that they also were intend to verify the election results as well…Not every count has gone well in the past. As the Coalition Report of the November 2008 Audit stated:…the November post-election audits still do not inspire confidence…Among our greatest concerns are the discrepancies between machine counts and hand-counts reported to the Secretary of the State by several municipalities
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2426

HI. What do voting machines, laser speed guns, and parking meters have in common?
Oct 5. Answer: You can’t be sure they are properly calibrated.
…I can only guess, but the laser speed guns may seldom, if ever, be tested at all. If that’s the case, then the city will have learned a valuable lesson as speeding cases are thrown out…For voting machines in Hawaii there is an administrative rule covering testing, and it applies to all computers used for elections:
…Anyone wanna bet on whether every computer is tested? I’ve been told that only a sample are tested, but I don’t have the last word on this…If any poll people know the answer to the voting machine question, though, I’d be curious to have your comments. I’d ask Kevin Cronin, the Chief Elections Officer, but he has enough headaches these days without a new challenge to deal with.
http://disappearednews.com/2009/10/what-do-voting-machines-laser-speed.html

IA. Feds question Culver’s voting promotion costs *
A federal audit of the Iowa secretary of state’s office has found questionable spending totaling $2.5 million of roughly $30 million that the state’s elections division received from the federal government while Gov. Chet Culver was secretary of state.
In particular, auditors questioned more than $1.2 million in spending related to a 2005 promotion to celebrate voting and milestones of voting rights.

The Voting News Daily: New York Military ballots at risk, Tenn. voting issue drags on, ES&S-Diebold monopoly game cont’d

Kenneth Blackwell of Ohio 04 fame wants a BIG overhaul of US.voter registration. system..Early voting makes candidates work harder, spend more in ST.Petersburg FL… NY voting system tests, Final day finds bug.. New York’s military votes at risk but help available from Overseas Vote Foundation. Tennessee courts may trump lawmakers in Tennessee voting machine decision. Texas Vote Centers a “model for the future” or “model for risk”? Russian media cites US’ voting machine monopoly.. Corporations are not people – are they? Supreme Court Decision in Citizens United v FEC may give corporations more say in elections.

All of that and more in today’s Voting News below…

FL. Early voting reshapes campaigning in St. Petersburg elections
October 4. The growing numbers of people voting by mail has changed the strategies and timing of campaigns for mayor and City Council in St. Petersburg. More than half of the 37,360 ballots cast in the Sept. 1 primary were done by mail ballot.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/early-voting-reshapes-campaigning-in-st-petersburg-elections/1040813


NY. Report on the final day of New York State voting machine testing now posted *
at
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog, including notes on a DS200 EMS user interface bug that turned up…Here a problem popped up on the DS200 EMS, which refused to import the election data from the scanner cards. This took some time to figure out, but eventually some careful troubleshooting revealed that the problem was that the order of the candidate names in the EMS database was not set up correctly.
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2009/10/day-5-of-nys-voting-machine-tests/

NY. Overseas Vote Foundation tweet:
Voters from NY-23: ballot time line will be tight. Story today Syracuse.com: http://ow.ly/sBEc – Use Fed Write-in Ballot
http://ow.ly/sBED

NY. Military ballots at risk in New York’s special election
October 04, 2009
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/military_ballots_at_risk_in_ne.html

NY. Update: Absentee ballots running late for 23rd Congressional District *
October 02, 2009 FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) — Military and election officials insist that hundreds of deployed Fort Drum soldiers will have enough time to return their absentee ballots in next month’s special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District, even though they won’t be mailed out for another two weeks…For this election, county boards will accept ballots until Nov. 16, although they still must be postmarked by Nov. 2, elections officials said.
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/update_absentee_ballots_runnin.html

TN. Election issue heats up
Time of the essence in resolving voting machine dispute
NASHVILLE – A dispute over the voting machines Tennesseans will use in the 2010 elections moved from the Legislature into the partisan political arena during the summer and is now the subject of a lawsuit that brings the court system into play as well.
The convoluted situation raises the possibility of creating confusion in the election system during an election year unless the courts or the Legislature can resolve it in reasonably short order.
Resolution of the dispute – at least outside the political arena – could also boil down to whether a court ruling comes before legislative action
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/oct/05/election-issue-heats-up/

TX. Countywide ‘vote centers’ could be election model for the future
Collin County will participate in a pilot program in November that could become the model for Texas elections.